Melissa Kibbe
@levelsof.bsky.social
Cognitive Scientist, Associate Professor at Boston University, Director of the Developing Minds Lab https://www.bu.edu/cdl/developing-minds-lab/
Pinned
Melissa Kibbe
@levelsof.bsky.social
· May 21
So excited to share my *first* first-author paper, out now in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social!! In this review, we argue that even if you don’t remember being a baby, evidence that infants form episodic-like memories is actually all around us: authors.elsevier.com/c/1l82g4sIRv...
authors.elsevier.com
Evidence for episodic-like memory in infancy is everywhere, if you know how to look for it! It was such a pleasure to write this paper with @lillianbehm.bsky.social and Nick Turk-Browne, out now in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social. #psychscisky #cogscisky #philsky #cogdev
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
I have news! After 4 fabulous years at Northeastern, this July I will be moving to Duke—with tenure! It’s hard to convey how grateful I am to everyone who has made this possible: from old professors in Mexico and mentors in the US to students, colleagues, and, of course, my amazing wife and family.
February 6, 2026 at 5:41 PM
I have news! After 4 fabulous years at Northeastern, this July I will be moving to Duke—with tenure! It’s hard to convey how grateful I am to everyone who has made this possible: from old professors in Mexico and mentors in the US to students, colleagues, and, of course, my amazing wife and family.
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
Apes Share Human Ability to Imagine
YouTube video by Johns Hopkins University
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Imagination in bonobos!
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
I am thrilled to share a new paper w/ Amalia Bastos, out now in @science.org
We provide the first experimental evidence that a nonhuman animal can follow along a pretend scenario & track imaginary objects. Work w/ Kanzi, the bonobo, at Ape Initiative
youtu.be/NUSHcQQz2Ko
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Anyway my nous paper just came out properly if you wanna read way too much about perceptual category representations
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Perceptual abstraction
Perception puts us in touch with highly determinate properties of objects, such as fine-grained color shades and detailed surface shapes. However, most of our immediate perceptual judgments concern m...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Anyway my nous paper just came out properly if you wanna read way too much about perceptual category representations
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
New w/ @drbarner.bsky.social! We argue that children's struggle to represent the past and future in common tests of knowledge may stem from difficulties in hypothetical reasoning about imaginary timelines, rather than a lack of knowledge about time. 1/n
academic.oup.com/chidev/advan...
academic.oup.com/chidev/advan...
Back to reality: Children's early temporal reasoning applies to real but not hypothetical events
Abstract. Time words like “yesterday” and “tomorrow” are hard for children to learn, and for researchers to study, because their referents change from day
academic.oup.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:22 PM
New w/ @drbarner.bsky.social! We argue that children's struggle to represent the past and future in common tests of knowledge may stem from difficulties in hypothetical reasoning about imaginary timelines, rather than a lack of knowledge about time. 1/n
academic.oup.com/chidev/advan...
academic.oup.com/chidev/advan...
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Part 1: How do LLMs work?
YouTube video by Andrew Perfors
www.youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:45 AM
I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Dear infant scientist friends,
What's the latest in infant eye tracking in terms of hardware? What are you using, are you happy, is there something I should consider, has there been some development in the last 10 years that I might not know about, etc etc?
Thanks!
#devpsy #PsychSciSky
What's the latest in infant eye tracking in terms of hardware? What are you using, are you happy, is there something I should consider, has there been some development in the last 10 years that I might not know about, etc etc?
Thanks!
#devpsy #PsychSciSky
January 27, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Dear infant scientist friends,
What's the latest in infant eye tracking in terms of hardware? What are you using, are you happy, is there something I should consider, has there been some development in the last 10 years that I might not know about, etc etc?
Thanks!
#devpsy #PsychSciSky
What's the latest in infant eye tracking in terms of hardware? What are you using, are you happy, is there something I should consider, has there been some development in the last 10 years that I might not know about, etc etc?
Thanks!
#devpsy #PsychSciSky
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Remember a true pre-storm French Toast run includes:
Milk
Eggs
Bread
A nice beverage as a treat from Page & Leaf cafe
A beefy book or two recommended by a libromancer
Candles
A journal to finally start your novel
Ingredients for the hex
Anything less is just screwin' around at Market Basket
Milk
Eggs
Bread
A nice beverage as a treat from Page & Leaf cafe
A beefy book or two recommended by a libromancer
Candles
A journal to finally start your novel
Ingredients for the hex
Anything less is just screwin' around at Market Basket
January 23, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Remember a true pre-storm French Toast run includes:
Milk
Eggs
Bread
A nice beverage as a treat from Page & Leaf cafe
A beefy book or two recommended by a libromancer
Candles
A journal to finally start your novel
Ingredients for the hex
Anything less is just screwin' around at Market Basket
Milk
Eggs
Bread
A nice beverage as a treat from Page & Leaf cafe
A beefy book or two recommended by a libromancer
Candles
A journal to finally start your novel
Ingredients for the hex
Anything less is just screwin' around at Market Basket
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Great new initiative from the editors of Perception: Philosophy Corner. A forum for "accessible reflections on the conceptual foundations of sensory/perception science where empirical insight meets philosophical inquiry". journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Introducing Philosophy Corner - Tim S. Meese, Pascal Mamassian, Isabelle Mareschal, Frans A.J. Verstraten, 2025
journals.sagepub.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Great new initiative from the editors of Perception: Philosophy Corner. A forum for "accessible reflections on the conceptual foundations of sensory/perception science where empirical insight meets philosophical inquiry". journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
The 52nd annual meeting of the SPP will be at JHU, June 17-20
📣 Submit your work by January 16! 📣
📣 Submit your work by January 16! 📣
January 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
The 52nd annual meeting of the SPP will be at JHU, June 17-20
📣 Submit your work by January 16! 📣
📣 Submit your work by January 16! 📣
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
no they do not, thanks for coming to my tedtalk.
January 8, 2026 at 9:55 PM
no they do not, thanks for coming to my tedtalk.
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
a project I really like, now officially out!
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
January 6, 2026 at 2:34 PM
a project I really like, now officially out!
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
"Shape Guides Visual Pretense"
by Qian and me
paper link: direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...
I'll walk through a quick version here
To get a sense of it, first consider:
Would it make more sense to pretend that this block is a car, or a strawberry?
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, but rather underwent fission into two separate streams of consciousness which we may, for convenience, dub Lefty and Righty...
December 25, 2025 at 2:58 AM
And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, but rather underwent fission into two separate streams of consciousness which we may, for convenience, dub Lefty and Righty...
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
somebody at UChicago is feeding preprints to LLMs without authors' consent, in a research study
they have the gall to suggest to authors they've opted-in that they volunteer to evaluate the LLMs' suggestions regarding their own work.
lol, lmao even. here is the invite and my reply
they have the gall to suggest to authors they've opted-in that they volunteer to evaluate the LLMs' suggestions regarding their own work.
lol, lmao even. here is the invite and my reply
January 5, 2026 at 10:55 PM
somebody at UChicago is feeding preprints to LLMs without authors' consent, in a research study
they have the gall to suggest to authors they've opted-in that they volunteer to evaluate the LLMs' suggestions regarding their own work.
lol, lmao even. here is the invite and my reply
they have the gall to suggest to authors they've opted-in that they volunteer to evaluate the LLMs' suggestions regarding their own work.
lol, lmao even. here is the invite and my reply
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Beautiful experimental philosophy paper on what people ordinarily mean when they say that a statement is “true”
Turns out it’s not always about corresponding correctly to the facts. Sometimes it’s more closely related to a moral ideal of “truthfulness”
philarchive.org/archive/ZYGTJN
Turns out it’s not always about corresponding correctly to the facts. Sometimes it’s more closely related to a moral ideal of “truthfulness”
philarchive.org/archive/ZYGTJN
January 1, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Beautiful experimental philosophy paper on what people ordinarily mean when they say that a statement is “true”
Turns out it’s not always about corresponding correctly to the facts. Sometimes it’s more closely related to a moral ideal of “truthfulness”
philarchive.org/archive/ZYGTJN
Turns out it’s not always about corresponding correctly to the facts. Sometimes it’s more closely related to a moral ideal of “truthfulness”
philarchive.org/archive/ZYGTJN
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
Publication day! It’s been a long journey to get to this point, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s supported that, and to @routledgebooks.bsky.social for publishing it.
December 23, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Publication day! It’s been a long journey to get to this point, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s supported that, and to @routledgebooks.bsky.social for publishing it.
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
He sees you when you’re sleeping. Hmmm. He knows when you’re awake. Okay. He knows if you've been bad or good. Interesting... What else does Santa Claus know, and how does he know it?
Just What Exactly Does Santa Know, and How? (guest post) - Daily Nous
He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. What else does Santa Claus know, and how does he know it? These are the questions Derek Anderson (Boston University) examines in his timel...
dailynous.com
December 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
He sees you when you’re sleeping. Hmmm. He knows when you’re awake. Okay. He knows if you've been bad or good. Interesting... What else does Santa Claus know, and how does he know it?
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (seems accurate)
December 19, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (seems accurate)
A theoretical physics answer to the age old question of whether God could make a rock so heavy he himself could not lift it: "The physical universe when pushed far past its
natural limits does allow the creation of an unliftable rock"
#philosophy #philpapers philpapers.org/rec/ANDCGM
natural limits does allow the creation of an unliftable rock"
#philosophy #philpapers philpapers.org/rec/ANDCGM
Derek Anderson, Could God Make A Rock So Heavy He Himself Could Not Lift it? - PhilPapers
I argue for the controversial view that God could indeed create a rock so heavy that He Himself could not lift it. This paper is in the tradition of modal metaphysics ...
philpapers.org
December 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
A theoretical physics answer to the age old question of whether God could make a rock so heavy he himself could not lift it: "The physical universe when pushed far past its
natural limits does allow the creation of an unliftable rock"
#philosophy #philpapers philpapers.org/rec/ANDCGM
natural limits does allow the creation of an unliftable rock"
#philosophy #philpapers philpapers.org/rec/ANDCGM
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
I know of some work vaguely in this direction (e.g., studies on how non-human primates don't learn language) but wanted to ask: does anyone know studies/literature on whether non-human animals ask questions?
(My understanding is they don't but want to read the lit before I form a strong view.)
(My understanding is they don't but want to read the lit before I form a strong view.)
December 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I know of some work vaguely in this direction (e.g., studies on how non-human primates don't learn language) but wanted to ask: does anyone know studies/literature on whether non-human animals ask questions?
(My understanding is they don't but want to read the lit before I form a strong view.)
(My understanding is they don't but want to read the lit before I form a strong view.)
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
A new project to digitize the complete works of Rudolf Carnap will be getting underway...
The Complete Carnap: Online and Open-Access - Daily Nous
The Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP) and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) are launching a joint project to digitize and place online the complete works of Rudolf ...
dailynous.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:01 PM
A new project to digitize the complete works of Rudolf Carnap will be getting underway...
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
This platform is so important! It allows researchers regardless of their university prestige to do research! So important for leveling the playing field for many developmental psychologist scientist from under resourced institutions. Please consider donating - donations will be matched!
This is a fundraising post!
An anonymous donor is matching contributions to Children Helping Science up to 100K through the end of the year - if it's in your giving budget, please consider supporting open science infrastructure!
giving.mit.edu/search/node/...
Details below...
An anonymous donor is matching contributions to Children Helping Science up to 100K through the end of the year - if it's in your giving budget, please consider supporting open science infrastructure!
giving.mit.edu/search/node/...
Details below...
Fund Search Results | Giving to MIT
giving.mit.edu
December 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
This platform is so important! It allows researchers regardless of their university prestige to do research! So important for leveling the playing field for many developmental psychologist scientist from under resourced institutions. Please consider donating - donations will be matched!
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
/ UH OH
/ FROM COMMUNICATION #1 @ communication.weatherishappening.com/weather-is-h... (SUBSCREYEB)
/ UR NEW ENGLAND IS WARMING DRAMATICALLY FASTER THAN THE REST OF UR EMPIRE
/ THAN THE REST OF UR WHOLE PLANET
/ "WILL WE EVER GET REAL SNOWBLOBS AGAIN?"
/ IDK
/ U NEED 2 REPENT 2 UR WEATHER LORDS
/ FROM COMMUNICATION #1 @ communication.weatherishappening.com/weather-is-h... (SUBSCREYEB)
/ UR NEW ENGLAND IS WARMING DRAMATICALLY FASTER THAN THE REST OF UR EMPIRE
/ THAN THE REST OF UR WHOLE PLANET
/ "WILL WE EVER GET REAL SNOWBLOBS AGAIN?"
/ IDK
/ U NEED 2 REPENT 2 UR WEATHER LORDS
December 10, 2025 at 12:54 PM
/ UH OH
/ FROM COMMUNICATION #1 @ communication.weatherishappening.com/weather-is-h... (SUBSCREYEB)
/ UR NEW ENGLAND IS WARMING DRAMATICALLY FASTER THAN THE REST OF UR EMPIRE
/ THAN THE REST OF UR WHOLE PLANET
/ "WILL WE EVER GET REAL SNOWBLOBS AGAIN?"
/ IDK
/ U NEED 2 REPENT 2 UR WEATHER LORDS
/ FROM COMMUNICATION #1 @ communication.weatherishappening.com/weather-is-h... (SUBSCREYEB)
/ UR NEW ENGLAND IS WARMING DRAMATICALLY FASTER THAN THE REST OF UR EMPIRE
/ THAN THE REST OF UR WHOLE PLANET
/ "WILL WE EVER GET REAL SNOWBLOBS AGAIN?"
/ IDK
/ U NEED 2 REPENT 2 UR WEATHER LORDS
Reposted by Melissa Kibbe
When we see something that's moving, our memories about it end up projected forward in time: We remember it further along than it was. In a new paper in 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, out today and led by @dillonplunkett.bsky.social, we demonstrate that this happens even when there is 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.🧵
Representational Momentum Transcends Motion
Dillon Plunkett & Jorge Morales (2025) Psychological Science
subjectivitylab.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM
When we see something that's moving, our memories about it end up projected forward in time: We remember it further along than it was. In a new paper in 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, out today and led by @dillonplunkett.bsky.social, we demonstrate that this happens even when there is 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙤𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.🧵